The issue of allergies and intolerances is one of the battlefields of medicine, because although it may seem a lie, there are many things to be discovered in this regard. For a while now, it is known that The intestine is linked to many health processes, even immune, and that the intestinal flora (the microbiota) is very important in the daily life of each child.
Well, in relation to celiac disease or gluten intolerance There is still much to say, because it has been seen that although the tests are negative, there are many children (and adults) who have symptoms that improve or remit when they stop consuming gluten. It is what is already known in the medical community as 'Gluten Sensitivity'.
What is gluten sensitivity?
As explained by the US National Library of Medicine, it is considered a similar intolerance, without exactly the same symptoms because celiac disease would be more serious.
Gluten intolerance, or celiac disease, is the sensitivity to this protein that is part of some cereals such as wheat, barley, rye ... its intake causes damage to the small intestine (responsible for food absorption, digestion , etc.), which affects in different ways, the treatment being the avoidance of all those foods or substances that contain gluten.
In the case of gluten-sensitive children and adults, celiac disease tests are negative, including biopsy, because the intestine is not affected. However, they share some symptoms such as tiredness, stomach aches, muscle cramps and numbness of the legs.
A lot to investigate
A few years ago they thought that if the tests were negative, there was no reason to suspect gluten in case there were different and similar symptoms. Now they know that there is what they have decided to call gluten sensitivity, a condition that, for now, does not have chord tests, or as a specialist told me a few weeks ago: "screening tests have become outdated and insufficient, because with them we are not responding to all people who have symptoms of consuming gluten. "
Meanwhile, if the pediatrician suspects that your child may have gluten sensitivity, he or she may suggest that stop offering gluten-free foods, to see if symptoms improve. And, once they get better, re-introduce them into the diet to see if these symptoms reappear.
Finally, we can only remember that eating a gluten-free diet is not dangerous at all. The only thing to try is to avoid that, instead, gluten-free processed foods are consumed, which are often less healthy than those that do have gluten (and which are guilty of many studies saying that gluten-free diets carry more risks to health).
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In Babies and more | Living without gluten: celiac disease and children, It is diagnosed more than ever and yet it is estimated that there are 75% of undiagnosed patients: National Celiac Disease Day, The special guide for allergy sufferers is published: Celiac, what a word so weird!
